Tatler UK - 10.2019

tatler.com Tatler Schools Guide 2020 65

NORTH & SCOTLAND

PUBLIC

with possibilities, a place where aspi-

rations become realities, where I

know my daughter is celebrated for

who she is and who she will be-

come.’ QM is very much a board-

ing school, and pupils love the 12

community weekends when they

take charge and organise their own

activities. The girls play lacrosse,

hockey and netball simultaneously

through the winter ensuring that

everyone has a chance to compete

in a team, and riding remains a

firm favourite – hardly surprising

given the stunning Yorkshire

countryside that surrounds the

school. QM has a global outlook:

25 per cent of the student body is

international and there are ex-

change programmes with Australia

and Chile. When it’s time to relax,

the girls can head to a mindfulness

sesssion, a Leith’s cookery course

or just chill out (or should that be

freeze?) in the outdoor pool.

ST GEORGE’S

SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 

Garscube Terrace, Edinburgh

EH12 6BG

Website stge.org.uk Head Alex

Hems, MA, since 2017; previously

Deputy Head of Wycombe Abbey

Pupils 790 girls. Day: 750;

boarding: 40 day Ages 12–18

Term Fees Day: £4,900; boarding:

£10,145 Oxbridge Occasional

Registration No deadline; £75 fee

Admission School’s own exam,

interview and previous school’s

report Alumnae Novelist Alice

Thompson, sculptor Kathleen Scott,

TV presenter Kay Adams

PREP Head Alex Hems Pupils

365 day and boarding girls Ages

5–13 Term Fees: £4,355

Not far from Murrayfield stadium

sits St George’s School for Girls, an

‘outstanding’ school with a focus on

‘finding the strengths of each

individual girl’, according to one

parent. Small class sizes guarantee

top-notch learning support and

tailored pastoral care, while an

excellent spread of sports (Judy

Murray has been involved in tennis

coaching) and extracurricular activi-

ties, ranging from music to fencing,

make sure the girls’ horizons are

and interview Alumni Author Abi

Elphinstone, mathematician Dame

Kathleen Ollerenshaw

PREP Head Eve Moran Pupils

171 day and boarding: 90 boys, 81

girls Ages 5–11 Term Fees Day:

£4,247; boarding: £8,217

St Leonards’ elegant buildings are

steeped in Scottish history, but the

school has a remarkably global

outlook with 45 per cent interna-

tional students in the sixth form:

‘It adds a wonderful richness to the

school,’ says one parent. Sitting on

a picturesque coastline, and sharing

the charming town of St Andrews

with Scotland’s oldest university

(which often opens up its first-class

facilities to the school), St Leonards

produces mature and sophisticated

pupils, whom visitors find ‘utterly

charming, bright and passionate’.

Once the ‘go-to’ girls’ boarding

school for the cream of Scottish so-

ciety, St Leonards is now co-ed and

half its sixth formers board –

though an exciting expansion will

soon see full boarding provision

for the senior school. The school

motto, ‘For Life’, neatly aligns with

the innovative IB ethos, a learning

system championed by Dr

Michael Carslaw. Parents describe

the Head as ‘a complete breath of

fresh air’, much like the pastoral

care system that is carefully tailored

to ‘adolescent codes of behaviour’.

Roughly a third of students head

to Scottish universities, a third to

English universities and the re-

mainder choose to study overseas

• one girl was recently awarded a
  rugby scholarship to Harvard.
  Director of Sports Mark Baxter
  does a commendable job ensuring
  that ‘sport is for all’, and golf natu-
  rally plays a seminal role with the
  famous world-class golf courses on
  their doorstep. Arts, visits and
  talks abound, though not to the
  detriment of academic rigour – for
  the past three years St Leonards
  has achieved the top IB Diploma
  results in Scotland.

ST PETER’S SCHOOL

YORK 

Clifton, York YO30 6AB

Website stpetersyork.org.uk

Head Jeremy Walker, BA, since

January 2019; previously Principal

of King’s School Rochester Pupils 530.

Day: 244 boys, 183 girls; boarding

59 boys, 44 girls Faith C of E Ages

13–18 Term Fees Day £6,235;

boarding: £10,360 Oxbridge 7%

Registration One year before entry;

£75 fee Admission School’s own

exam, previous school’s report and

interview Alumni Actor Greg Wise,

cricketer Johnny Bairstow, composer

John Barry

PREP Head Andy Falconer

Pupils 358 day and boarding: 202

boys, 156 girls Ages 8–13 Te r m

Fees Day: £5,160; boarding: £8,820

‘An exceptionally articulate and

mature bunch,’ was how one visitor

described the St Peter’s students.

Despite its location in central

York, the school’s 47-acre riverside

campus offers ample room for

sports, while the town centre is a

mere 10-minute walk from the

boarding houses. Add to the mix

great results, extensive co-curricular

activities and guest lectures, and you

begin to understand why there’s

been a 28 per cent increase in en-

quiries in the past two years. The

new Head, Oxford-educated Jeremy

Walker, takes a refreshing approach

to education, emphasising his stu-

dents’ ‘positive work ethic and zest

for life’. The school’s academic rep-

utation is definitely a key draw for

parents (around seven per cent

head to Oxbridge and half to

Russell Group universities), but

it’s the school’s performance ]

broadened from day one. Head

Alex Hems is keen to build on the

sense of community among this

mainly local bunch, while the

international programme, including

exchanges with Canada and South

Africa, helps students to see the

bigger picture. The girls socialise

with Merchiston boys, but the

school fervently champions its

single-sex education environment

as it allows girls to be themselves,

to develop at their own pace and to

find their own voice, free from

distractions and stereotypes. These

girls embrace responsibility and

leadership roles, whether debating

in the Model United Nations or

writing for Independent Women,

the school magazine. St George’s

combines the ‘Best of British

examinations’ by offering GCSEs

followed by Scottish Highers, and

most girls are accepted by their

first-choice university. No doubt

the school’s pioneering 19th-century

female founders would be proud.

ST LEONARDS 

St Andrews, Fife KY16 9QJ

Website stleonards-fife.org

Head Michael Carslaw, PhD, since

2008; previously Deputy Head of

Ardingly College Pupils 370. Day:

121 boys, 125 girls; boarding: 61

boys, 63 girls Ages 11–18

Term Fees Day: £5,158; boarding:

£12,484 Oxbridge 3–5%

Registration Early registration

advised; £100 fee Admission School’s

own exam, previous school’s report

ST LEONARDS

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